Terri Denison Annie Sandler, who was installed as the new president of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) on December 5 in Manhattan, visited with Israeli President Herzog and his wife Michal on a JDC solidarity mission to the country in November....
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Grandparents Day at the Strelitz International Academy
Carin Simon Each year, the day before Thanksgiving is devoted to Grandparents Day at Strelitz International Academy. Important in the lives of SIA’s students, many grandparents support the school throughout the year by giving to the Annual Donor Fund, Annual Golf...
Shabbat at the Cavalier combines joy, support for Israel, and comraderie
Bob Lehman A desire to be with each other and the greater Jewish community in solidarity for the State of Israel brought 140 people to the Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club on Friday, Nov. 17. The evening was nothing short of magical. While the attendees were mostly...
Year End – Special Section December 2023
First hostages released by Hamas
Gabe Friedman, Ron Kampeas, Ben Sales (JTA) —In phases, Hamas released Israeli hostages into Egypt, a sign that the four-day ceasefire brokered between Israel and the terror group that runs Gaza would hold. In the first release, 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino...
A view from Israel: A new (emergency) normal
Liz Dovrat I recently joined a Zoom meeting run by the dean of the humanities and social sciences faculty at my college, Tel Hai in Kiryat Shmona. The dean commenced the meeting by praising the multitudes of faculty and student initiatives started during the immediate...
Mazel Tov – Special Section
Abbey Pachter’s “A Monarch in Winter” launches to rave reviews
Terri Denison A Monarch in Winter, Abbey Pachter’s “Biography of a Butterfly” was celebrated at a book launch earlier this month. The book details the life of a male monarch butterfly, which Pachter rescued from freezing when it was a caterpillar. Over the span of a...
Norfolk’s Grand Illumination Parade includes Hanukkah
Amy Milligan I cried in Norfolk’s Grand Illumination parade on Saturday evening, Nov. 18 when 14 of us chose Jewish joy and marched with a giant Hanukkah balloon– despite some of us feeling afraid. It wasn’t lost on us that we were the only group that had multiple...
Hanukkah 2023 in Jewish Tidewater
With the lighting of the first Hanukkah candle taking place on Thursday, December 7, ample opportunities exist to celebrate the festival of lights with community in Tidewater. Be sure to confirm or RSVP to the events if requested. Happy Hanukkah! Chabad of Tidewater...
A decade of the Shabbat Project
Craig Schranz Tidewater celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Shabbat Project, Nov. 3 – 4, with an abundance of opportunities for unity and inspiration. The Shabbat Project was conceived by Warren Goldstein, chief rabbi of South Africa, who envisioned Jews across the...
Special Section – Happy Hanukkah
Nadiv begins a new year of programming, networking, and philanthropy
Todd Holcomb Members of Nadiv, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division men’s giving circle, gathered at the Downtown Norfolk home of Jeff Chernitzer on Wednesday, Sept. 6 to kick off a new year of philanthropy, networking, and community service...
High Holidays Special Section
High Holidays 5784 September 2023
Sukkot activities abound in Tidewater
Jewish News staff report Sukkot begins at sundown on Sept. 29, five days after observing Yom Kippur. During this Jewish autumn festival, many families, congregations, and schools build a sukkah, a temporary structure with three walls and an organic roof that provides...
Super Sunday brings community together and ignites the 2024 campaign
Elana McGovern The theme of this year’s United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday Community Phone-a-Thon and Campaign Kickoff could not have been more fitting: “Today, Tomorrow, Always.” This was on the minds of almost 60 volunteers who manned the phones at...
Rosh Hashana Special Section
Happy 5784! Rosh Hashanah Section September 2023
Local participation in Birthright Israel flourishes
Jewish News staff report A group of Jewish philanthropists created Birthright Israel in 1999 with the goal of giving every eligible young Jewish adult around the world the opportunity to visit Israel. The 10-day, mostly free trip aims to motivate young people to...
High Holiday security: Be aware and prepared
Stephanie Peck While many area synagogues hire off-duty police officers or sheriff’s deputies during High Holiday services, Michael Goldsmith, regional security advisor for Secure Community Network, emphasizes the role each congregant plays in recognizing and...
B’nai Israel welcomes new rabbi
Stephanie Peck At first glance, Rabbi Shlomo Eisenberg, B’nai Israel Congregation’s new rabbi, looks like a yeshiva student. Tall and lean, he has a generous smile and a warm welcome. After a few minutes of conversation, however, his composure and focus suggest a...
Sam Sachs “brings the party” to a party celebrating life after cancer.
Lisa Richmon Few would deny that Jenny Sachs can hold her own. She’s a mom, practicing psychologist, and singer in a five-person band with her husband Matthew, a child and adult psychiatrist. During the pandemic, Sam, their 11-year-old son and only child, was...
Tidewater teens compete in JCC Maccabi Games in Florida
Stephanie Peck Ten teen athletes from Tidewater travelled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to participate in the JCC Association of North America’s 41st Maccabi Games last month. Along with Tom Edwards, athletics director for the Simon Family JCC, these teens braved the...
Protests in Israel – A family affair?
On Saturday, July 29, I took my seven-year-old twin daughters to the large Gome Junction protest, the northernmost protest against the judicial reforms in Israel. These protests have been occurring for 30 weeks in a row at junctions and in cities across Israel. Since...
Beth Sholom Village: The past informs the future of Jewish senior care in Tidewater
Much has changed since Beth Sholom Village opened its doors in 1980, but the tradition of caring has not. Among those changes: The name of the organization changed from Beth Sholom Home of Eastern Virginia, an assisted living community was added in 2004, and services...
The Guide to Jewish Living in Tidewater 2023
The Guide to Jewish Living in Tidewater 2023
New Gaga pit assures more game time
Originating in Israel, Gaga is a sport like dodgeball, played in a circular pit where players hit and roll the ball to eliminate opposing players. The Simon Family JCC built its first Gaga pit nearly 10 years ago to entertain students and campers on the Sandler Family...
JFS Biennial Meeting: New leadership, awards, and farewells
This year marks 75 years of commitment by Jewish Family Service to serve the community. For more than three quarters of a century, thousands of people have received help from the family services agency. Part of the agency’s success is the legacy of its board of...
Summer Camp opens at JCC with spirit and fun
Off to an exceptional start, Camp JCC’s campers and counselors are quickly finding their rhythm – building solid relationships throughout the camp community. One key to Camp JCC’s initial success is the dedicated team of counselors who seamlessly settled into their...
Delegate Anne Ferrell Tata honored
A luncheon to honor and express appreciation to Delegate Anne Ferrell Tata for her leadership and efforts in passing the first piece of legislation in Virginia aimed at fighting antisemitism – adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working...
Dear Readers: Senior Living
Dear Readers, What age qualifies as a senior? It seems like the answer depends on where you inquire. AARP, for example, says its organization is dedicated to people 50 and over. According to Medicare, however, a senior is 65 years old or older. But anyone 55 can...
A family’s reunion to celebrate a portrait’s rebirth
A portrait of Lewis Nusbaum (1830-1902) has been restored to its original condition thanks to the skill of the Chrysler Museum’s conservator, Mark Lewis, and the generosity of several of Nusbaum’s descendants. In June, many of those descendants gathered at Ohef Sholom...
Virginia Beach School Board votes “no” on library changes
The Virginia Beach School Board met on Monday, June 12 to vote on, among other topics on their agenda, potential changes to the library media centers in each of the division’s schools. The vote on the proposed change to the school’s library policy in Virginia Beach...